Centro Historico y el Mercado de Wanchaq

So today was Wyatt's last day off for a while, so tomorrow we start our routine of school, work, and simply living in Peru. In order to get set up, we visited the Mercado (the street market), which is where most people get their groceries, and such. Back home in Calgary, I usually make a list, and shop for the week, or perhaps even longer, but according to what my Mom tells me, people here shop either daily or every two days. Daily shopping is something that I will need to get used to, I personally find it to be too time consuming, but one of our goals here was so eat like locals, so I will give it a try for a few weeks, and then see how to adjust it according to how our family eats.
Going to the market was fun, I love all the different fruits, and vegetables available, but after going through the meat market, I think I might consider a diet with less meat. I remember as a child, I hated going to the market, and now I remembered why. The meat section makes me a bit queasy. They have a lot of meats hanging, and the chickens always seem to have this yellow color. The rest of the market is nice,but the meat section is a bit nasty to me.

Maija by the fish section of Mercado Wanchaq. The fishy smells are not as strong to me as the meat smells ;)

Terran and Maija by the cheese, and meat section.

We purchased Mangoes, grapes, peaches, passion fruit, 1/2 kilo of fish, sweet potatoes, onions, cilantro, limes (a bag of 8), tomatoes, bread (6 buns), green onions, casava roots, about 1 lbs of cheese, toilet paper, paper towel, dish soap, a bar of pure chocolate, hand soap, and a market bag, as well as other things I might be forgetting for around $35 CDN, it was a pretty good deal.

My Mom by the fish section. They have a lot of trout here in Cusco "Trucha"

Later on that afternoon we headed down to the Plaza Mayor of Cusco. This area seems to be the tourism center of Cusco. We took a lot of cool pictures, saw a lot of cool clothes in bright traditional colors, and even took a picture with a little lamb. If you ever visit Cusco, just like in NY people offer to take pictures with you, but for a fee, also watch out for your valuables, although I felt pretty safe, there is a huge police presence in the area. There were a lot of young girls (maybe in their 20's) offering massages for 20 soles/hour. I thought it sounded like a great deal, but my Mom tells me to be careful, some might steal your stuff during the massage, so not a great deal after all.

Also in Cusco, and most of Peru so far,  you must carry toilet paper wherever you go, and a little bit of change, I also find always having hand sanitizer is very helpful too, sorry germophobe here. Depending on your business you will need to pay between 0.30-0.50 soles to use "los servicios higienicos" aka the bathroom. Yes, they do ask which one you are intending to do, lol. Also, you can't just ask at any store to use their bathroom, you have to go in designated areas. Peruvians are super kind, and friendly, but very protective of their bathrooms.

La Plaza Mayor de Cusco

Wyatt outside the Santa Catalina Monastery

Having my Mom with us has been extremely helpful. She had shown us a few recipes, and how to shop at markets, how to wash the fruit (She soaks the fruits and vegetables in water with a little bit of bleach). What are good prices in the mercado. We really appreciate her spending this time with us, otherwise I think I would be totally lost as to what to eat, and how to make it. It also really helps that she is a great cook.

Resting a little, we are making my poor mother walk so much..

Cool engraving on a door. Wyatt likes to capture small details

Monica, Terran and Maija at the Plaza Mayor

Wyatt, a lady wearing traditional Peruvian clothes, Maija holding a lamb, Terran, and my Mom

Maija and Terran were both pretty impressed with the twelve angle stone. According to Wikipedia (we are reading a lot there to learn about the places we are seeing) the twelve angled stone is an example of perfectionist Incan architecture. The block is categorized as Cultural Heritage of the Nation of Peru. All these stones are perfectly carved together, there is no binding agent between them, yet you can't even get razor blade between them.

Maija in front of the twelve angled stone

Terran in front of the twelve angled stone

I am in love with Cusco, this is what I was hoping Peru would be like. It is a beautiful, and relatively calm city with so much culture, and things to see. It reminds me of the first time I saw Paris, I wanted to take a picture of every street, Cusco has that same effect one me. ;) Just like in Paris you have to watch your step here, "caquita" everywhere!

A typical street in Cusco.

Of course another dog....Terran has counted 43 so far. We found out from our host family that all the dogs that have a green collars have been vaccinated for rabies.

Another furry friend just outside our apartment